What If Life Is Waiting On You To Make The First Move? | Blog
Make the Move
Earlier this week, on Alyssa Nobriga’s podcast interview with Brianna Weist, I heard a line that hit me: “Life is waiting on you.”
Immediately, another thought arose in me: Life is waiting on me to make the first move.
That simple phrase opened up in me and fed me examples and deeper insights throughout the day.
If I’m honest, I can see how often I’ve waited. I’ve waited for clarity. For confidence. For the “right” timing or perfect conditions. I’ve waited until I felt ready, or certain.
But what if life and business aren’t waiting for us to be flawless? What if they’re just waiting for us to move?
What if the thing we hope for, desire, requires us to step into life, AS IS?
A few years ago, I got one of those emails that makes your heart leap. It was from a well-known global personal development brand that offers online courses and in-person events. They’d seen my work, and someone had recommended me. They wanted to know if I’d be interested in creating a course with them.
Yes, yes, yes!
We set up a call. It was fun, energizing and creative. They loved the ideas I was sharing.
And then the producer said: “We’ve got a filming slot in LA next month. Or, if you prefer, later in the summer.”
Even though I was a yes to this opportunity and super excited about it, in that moment, I hesitated. That hesitation showed up as: Later will be better. More time to prepare and make it great. Maybe even lose a few pounds for the cameras.
So, I said, “Let’s do later.”
You can probably guess what happened. Life got busy, schedules shifted, and then the pandemic hit. Filming stopped. The opportunity slipped away.
When I look back, I don’t beat myself up. But I do see it clearly now: that choice to wait wasn’t wisdom. It was fear, dressed up as reasonable thinking.
Waiting for _____ (clarity, certainty, the “right” way, to “make it better”, etc) and avoiding discomfort (i.e. feeling vulnerable, fear of flopping, looking foolish, rejection, etc) can look identical from the outside.
But in hindsight, I can see that my “let’s do later” was an unconscious attempt to try to control an illusion of a better outcome.
It’s a trick of the mind, trying to feel like we have more control over something that’s inherently uncertain.
Fast forward to earlier this year. I had just created a new program, The Call: A 4-Month Immersion, during one inspired weekend. I was so excited. The vision poured out of me.
I designed the program, wrote the invitation, and then… froze.
For two weeks, I stared at the draft and second-guessed every detail. The timing, the structure, the opening retreat. Was it right? Was it ready?
Those two weeks went by in this weird limbo. Part of me knew I was avoiding and overthinking, but I was equally convinced that maybe the dates were wrong, maybe it needed more refinement. I kept trying to perfect it so it would be received well, finding new reasons to wait just one more day.
But if I’m honest, it was me avoiding the feeling of pressing send. Because pressing send meant letting go of it and seeing what life would offer. It meant letting go of control. It meant people might not sign up. It meant being vulnerable.
Finally, during a conversation with a friend, it became clearer that the issue wasn’t whether I should do it or if it’s a good time; the issue was wanting certainty when there is none.
So, I hit send anyway. I made the move.
And you know what? It came together with a beautiful group. It wasn’t a linear path, but the path revealed itself as I acted. Life presented the perfect people in some surprising ways. The four months we spent together were powerful, connected, and deeply moving.
I was so grateful I didn’t let that moment slip away like I had with LA.
This pattern of hesitation, or avoidance, before stepping in, showed up everywhere in my life.
When I lived in Scotland, I started cold water swimming. And every single time, the hesitation showed up before I got in. My mind went into overdrive: It’s too cold. It’s windy. Maybe tomorrow.
But the moment I stepped into the water, everything shifted. Hesitation disappeared, replaced by joy, energy, and aliveness that stayed with me for hours.
Business and life are the same. The dread and the delay live in the waiting. The reward lives in the stepping in.
So if you’ve been waiting — for more confidence, more clarity, the “perfect” timing — consider this your nudge.
Life isn’t asking you to be flawless. It’s asking you to make the first move. Because here’s what I’ve learned: life really is waiting on us. Not for us to be perfect, but for us to be brave enough to step in.
One imperfect, human move at a time.
👉 And if you’re ready to step in more boldly, join me and an incredible group of speakers at The Innerverse Sessions on September 19th, a one-day virtual summit about business, creative intelligence, and making moves.
